My annual reflection on the blog hits and misses, what was popular, and what wasn’t… After a relatively quiet 2022 with fewer posts due to less travel during Covid times things picked up again, helped by a four month trip around Europe and Middle East which has given the blog content till mid-2024. I published 83 posts in 2023, compared with 56 in 2022, but had a similar number of site views overall.

As usual by far the most popular posts were New Zealand Great Walks Ranked and New Zealand tramps (multi-day walks) ranked, both of which I updated this year to include the Paparoa Track and other hikes I’ve done over the past couple of years.

Wellington Hills ranked was the third most popular. I originally posted it in 2021 but shared it on a Karori FB group this year which got some attention.

The most popular new posts this year were New Zealand cities ranked, Spiez, Brienz, Grindelwald and Lungern (unexpectedly as an odds and sods Switzerland post), and three NZ day hikes – Marchant Ridge Track, Mt McKerrow Loop, and Lewis Pass Tops Route.

A call out to the least popular posts published this year, starting with a pair on the Central Otago Rail Trail – Clyde to Lauder and Lauder to Waipiata, which surprised me as it is a popular trail and very photogenic.

The less well known Kathmandu was also little known…

A number of posts on Egypt and Jordan hadn’t had many views by the end of the year, but were published late in the year, unlike Banks Track – Ōnuku to Flea Bay published in May which I thought was a pretty good post, with good scenery, wildlife and some quirky sights.